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Saturday
April 26, 2014
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Colors of Spring
A beautiful spring day at Ward Lake.
Front Page Photo By ROSALIND UTTERBACK ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)
Ketchikan: Patti Mackey announces intent to run for the District 36 State House seat - Patti Mackey, president and CEO of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau announced that she will run for the Alaska State House seat currently held by Peggy Wilson of Wrangell. Mackey made her announcement to the audience attending a KVB sponsored luncheon Friday at the Cape Fox Lodge.
Mackey stated that she had filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission earlier in the week allowing her to announce her plans. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
Southeast Alaska: Thirty-six to graduate from UAS Sitka- The University of Alaska Southeast – Sitka will hold its Commencement exercises on Friday May 2 at 7:00 pm in Room 229 on the Sitka Campus. Graduating students, their families and friends, and the general public are invited to attend. The university faculty and staff will join the celebration along with Sitka Campus Advisory Council members.
This year’s Commencement speaker will be emerita Professor Dolly Garza, a Haida/Tlingit Alaskan who was born and raised in Ketchikan and spent her working life promoting the wise use of Alaska marine resources. She helped rural communities have a voice in the allocation of natural resources in their areas. Dr. Garza was an instructor in the Alaska Marine Advisory Program, a forerunner of today’s Fisheries program at UAS. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
Southeast Alaska: Upcoming Gustavus Centennial Celebration - Gustavus (formerly Strawberry Point) will observe 100 years since the first settlers landed on the Southeast Alaska flats in June of 1914, with a community wide 3-day celebration billed as the “biggest party Gustavus has ever seen”.
Sponsored by Gustavus Historical Archives & Antiquities, Friday June 27th will open the festivities with the dedication and reception of the new Monument Building at the cemetery. The tower bell will be rung 100 times, followed by the unveiling of a new bronze memorial for the 1957 military plane crash victims that perished with the wreckage that remains in the woods to this day. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
Southeast Alaska: DOT Working to Salvage Skagway Dock; Sailings Canceled Through May 9th - The Alaska Department of Transportation and the Municipality of Skagway closed the Skagway Ferry Terminal until further notice Thursday after the floating dock used by Alaska Marine Highway ferries submerged the morning of Thursday, April 24th, and is inoperable to all traffic.
The cause for the submersion is still unknown. Alaska DOT&PF is actively investigating the incident.
The Alaska Department of Transportation is working toward salvaging and repairing the Skagway Ferry Terminal dock. The dock, which was still submerged Friday, is stabilized on the seafloor. All contaminants have been removed from the dock and oil booms remain deployed as a precautionary measure. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
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Southeast Alaska: Bill of Significant Importance to Southeast Alaska's Economy Passed on Final Day - Yesterday, on the final day of the extended legislative session, the Alaska State Legislature passed Senate Bill 99 which includes three provisions of significant importance to the economy of Southeast Alaska.
Passage of the bill authorizes the state to provide financing for the Blue Lake Hydroelectric Project in Sitka as well as two mining projects on Prince of Wales Island; the Bokan-Dotson Ridge mine and the Niblack mine.
All three of these provisions were inserted as amendments to Senate Bill 99 which was originally introduced as a bill making technical changes to the Sustainable Energy Transmission and Supply Fund within the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).
The amendment for the Bokan-Dotson Ridge mine allows AIDEA to issue up to $145,000,000 in bonds to finance the surface infrastructure of this rare earth element project located on Prince of Wales Island. This project represents an unsurpassed opportunity for Alaska to furnish materials of critical importance to the United States military and green energy technology. Additionally, this project is important for the much needed jobs it will create in Southeast Alaska. During the estimated one and a half years of construction, the onsite workforce will peak at about 300 employees. During operations there will be about 190 employees. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
Alaska: Alaska’s Education Opportunity Act Passed; Education Finishes Last Say Senate Democrats By MARY KAUFFMAN - Yesterday, on the ninety-fifth and final day of the 28th Alaska Legislature, Governor Sean Parnell thanked legislators for their historic work on behalf of Alaskans. Among the governor’s priorities this year was House Bill 278, Alaska’s Education Opportunity Act.
After declaring the second session of the 28th Alaska Legislature the “Education Session,” Governor Parnell worked with legislators to pass House Bill 278, Alaska’s Education Opportunity Act. The legislation provides new educational opportunities, such as charter, correspondence and residential schools, and vocational training. The bill also includes a significant increase to school funding.
“This legislative session, we took a big step toward ensuring our students are well prepared, and Alaska’s future remains bright as a result,” Governor Parnell said. “With Alaska’s Education Opportunity Act, we have accomplished our goal of improving Alaska’s schools through more educational opportunity and additional funding. I thank the many Alaskans who took the time to make their voices heard.”
Governor Parnell’s education legislation also includes provisions that provide a substantial boost to the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP), increase residential school stipends to create more opportunity for rural students, and eliminate the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, replacing it with a student’s choice of the ACT, SAT, or WorkKeys assessments.
The Legislature also passed Governor Parnell’s Digital Teaching Initiative to deliver higher quality instruction and more diverse classes to Alaska’s students.
In the "Education Session", education finishes last say the Alaska Senate Democrates. After the 2013 passage of SB 21, the Oil Wealth Giveaway, the legislature returned in 2014 to an unfortunate, but predicted fiscal catastrophe quoting a news release from Senator Hollis French (D), Minority Leader, Senator Johnny Ellis (D), Senator Berta Gardner (D), Senator Lyman Hoffman (D), and Senator Bill Wielechowski (D). Quoting their news release, despite promises of increased production and revenue to the State of Alaska, even the most optimistic Department of Revenue production forecasts fail to project even one new barrel of oil in the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
“It is remarkable that in just two short years Alaska went from billion dollar surpluses to billion dollar deficits. Now our worst fears are being realized in the latest production and revenue forecasts from the Governor’s team at the Department of Revenue. No increased production and red ink, to the tune of billions and billions of dollars, as far as the eye can see,” stated Minority Leader Hollis French (D-Anchorage). - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
Alaska: Governor & Senate Majority Reflect on Accomplishments of 28th Session - Reflecting on the close of the 28th Alaska Legislature, Governor Sean Parnell on Friday highlighted his legislative agenda and thanked legislators for their historic work on behalf of Alaskans. The governor’s priorities this year included advancing an Alaska gasline, and reducing state spending while paying down Alaska’s debt relating to the state’s unfunded pension liability.
After reaching what the Governor called a historic alignment among the State of Alaska, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), the producers, and TransCanada, Governor Parnell introduced Senate Bill 138, seeking public hearings and legislative approval of the necessary framework for Alaska to become an owner in the Alaska LNG Project.
For the first time in Alaska’s history said the Governor, all the necessary parties for a project are aligned, the Legislature has authorized the State to proceed with the other parties into the early engineering and design phase, and a clear path forward on a gasline has been initiated that can create thousands of jobs and fuel Alaskan homes and businesses.
“As an owner in the Alaska LNG Project, Alaska will control her own destiny,” Governor Parnell said. “I appreciate the Legislature’s thorough review of SB 138, and I look forward to working with legislators in the future to get Alaska’s gas to Alaskans.”
With the passage of SB 138, the Alaska LNG Project now moves into the Pre-FEED (Pre-Front End Engineering and Design) phase – a half-billion-dollar commitment, spread across all parties, to further refine the engineering and cost challenges of the project.
Governor Parnell also focused on reducing state spending and paying down Alaska’s debt by tackling Alaska’s biggest cost driver, its unfunded pension debt. In addition to reducing spending by $1.1 billion, the Legislature passed House Bill 385, the governor’s legislation to pay down Alaska’s unfunded pension liability by infusing $2 billion into the Teachers' Retirement System and $1 billion into the Public Employees’ Retirement System from the Constitutional Budget Reserve Fund. With the $3 billion infusion, the state will be able to make lower annual payments to the pension plan and better control state spending.
“We are committed to paying down Alaska’s debt and strengthening Alaska’s already stellar fiscal position,” Governor Parnell said. “In passing House Bill 385, legislators are putting our state on a more secure financial footing, while also ensuring our great grandchildren aren’t saddled with this debt.”
The 15-member Alaska Senate Majority established five major priorities to accomplish over the two sessions of the 28th Legislature including putting more oil in the pipeline, creating affordable in-state energy, controlling state spending, stopping federal overreach and breaking the cycle of crime.- More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
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Fish Factor: Herring fisheries, 10 step QC program, fish fizzle & watch By LAINE WELCH - Kodiak’s roe herring fishery began on April 15 with little notice and rumors of fire sale prices. The fleet of 22 seiners was down a bit; they are competing for a harvest of 5,800 short tons, similar to the past five years. No gillnetters had signed up for the herring fishery.
Test fishing from the east side of the island were showing nice roe counts, said James Jackson, herring manager at ADF&G in Kodiak.
“We are fishing a predominantly older age class of mostly nine year olds and it looks like we are hitting those fish right now. They are about 250 to 300 gram fish with 12.5% roe counts, so it looks pretty good,” he said.
The female herring are valued in Japan for the amount of roe (eggs) they contain as a percent of body weight. As much as 90% of the males and female carcasses are mostly just ground up and dumped.
Talk of an advance price of $150 to $200 dollars was the word on the Kodiak docks, down by half from last year. Virtually all of Alaska’s herring roe goes to a single market, Japan, where hefty supplies reportedly remain in warehouse freezers.
Meanwhile, Alaska’s largest herring fishery at Togiak was poised to take off any day with a harvest of nearly 28,000 tons. With the market in a slump and prices in the pits, some were calling for the fishery to remain closed.
“It’s not worth going over there,” said Robin Samuelson of Dillingham, chair of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Association and a lifelong fisherman. “A lot of fishermen are saying we need to hold our spot in case the price comes up. I personally feel them fish are more important to the ecosystem at $50-$65 a ton than catching them. We need to look at how we can capitalize on that market.”
The base price for roe herring last month at Sitka Sound was $150 compared to $600 in 2013. The price last year at Togiak was about $100/ton.
But things are looking up! A bill just passed by Alaska law makers expands the Salmon Product Development Tax Credits to include herring. Senate Bill 71, sponsored by Senator Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna), will enable processors to purchase equipment and make investments in more valuable herring products, such as canned, powdered, pickled and smoked.
“There have been positive trends since this bill was originally enacted (for salmon) in 2003, including product diversity, increased state revenues from the fisheries business tax and increased permit prices,” Micciche said in a press release. The bill also was expanded to include new product development from fishery byproducts. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014
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Ketchikan: 2013 National Bridge Report Released - Data from a new government report show that if all the structurally deficient bridges in the United States were placed end-to-end, it would take you 25 hours driving 60 miles per hour to cross them. That's like driving the 1,500 miles between Boston and Miami. And it's a problem that's close to home.
Included in the top 10 most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Alaska are Ketchikan's Water Street Viaduct built in 1955 and the Hoadley Creek bridge built in 1957.
Currently plans are underway that would remove the Water Street Viaduct from the list. The Alaska Department of Transportation held a public meeting in Ketchikan earlier this week (April 22, 2014) to provide a preliminary report to the public including the Department's plans for replacing approximately 1,000 feet of the deteriorated Water Street Viaduct from approximately the 1250 block to the 1639 block of Water Street.
An analysis of the 2013 National Bridge Inventory database recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) shows cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation's more than 63,000 structurally compromised bridges 250 million times every day. The most heavily traveled are on the Interstate system.
The problem could get a lot worse, the chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) says, as states across the nation face a slowdown in reimbursements for already approved federal-aid highway projects in August. Without congressional action, Dr. Alison Premo Black says there will be no Highway Trust Fund support for any new road, bridge, or public transportation projects in any state during FY 2015, which begins October 1.
"Letting the Highway Trust Fund investment dry up would have a devastating impact on bridge repairs," Black says, noting the trust fund has supported $89 billion in bridge construction work by the states over the past 10 years. "It would set back bridge improvements in every state for the next decade."
"The bridge problem sits squarely on the backs of our elected officials," Black says. "The state transportation departments can't just wave a magic wand and make the problem go away. It takes committed investment by our legislators. Members of Congress need to come to grips with that. Some of our most heavily travelled bridges were built in the 1930s. Most are more than 40 years old." - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014 |
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Alaska Science: Teshekpuk Lake Observatory a special place By NED ROZELL - Suspended in glass on the oil stove, the coffee leans south, as if the giant lake has a gravitational pull. Though Ben Jones has leveled this cabin before, he sees a useful function in the current slope, caused by thawed permafrost. Any snow blown in during the long winter will drain through the door when the warm air comes, he figures.
Ben Jones of the USGS Alaska Science Center inanchorage works ont he tundra near a half-century old cabin he helped restore on the northern shore of Teshekpuk Lake.
Photo by NED ROZELL
Jones sees most coffee pots as half full, I have observed. The geographer/interested-in-everything scientist with whom I’ve been traveling for the past two weeks works at the USGS Alaska Science Center in Anchorage. Here on the northern shore of Teshekpuk Lake, the 35-year-old raised in Cincinnati is at home in a place that couldn’t be more different.
Here on a patchwork of oval-shaped lakes and dry lake beds sprouting tundra, he has created a world of his own making. He calls it the Teshekpuk Lake Observatory (teshekpuklake.com). It consists of this small cabin, half a century old, and a pair of smaller outbuildings.
He first discovered the old Naval Arctic Research Lab structure on a map of useable shelters on the western North Slope he saw hanging on a wall in Barrow. A few years later, he visited the boarded-up cabin on a research trip to Teshekpuk Lake. He got excited thinking about fixing it up.
Jones is now at the cabin for a few days with UAF’s Chris Arp and Guido Grosse of the Alfred Wegener Institute. The main objective of this three-week, 800-mile snowmachine traverse is to repeat measurements as part of an arctic-wide survey of changing lakes. Ben, Chris and Guido have led me about 400 miles by snowmachine so far; we are halfway on a round-trip between Toolik and Teshekpuk lakes. - More...
Saturday - April 26, 2014 |
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 Let the public vote on minimum wage By Betsy Chivers - Fellow Alaskans, please urge all senators to oppose HB 384, the minimum wage bill! I’m pleased that the legislature has finally looked at the salary of a full-time minimum wage worker and realized that a person living on $16,120 lives in poverty. However, low-wage workers have been disregarded for so long that they have a right to be wary when the legislature all of a sudden sees the light and embraces an increase to the indecently low minimum wage. Is their intention just to snatch this issue off the ballot? I believe so. - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
RE: Annoying sign holders By David Jensen - The "sign holders" had less to do with me as an individual who believes that ending a human life for convenience is "Murder" than Marie Zellmer's letter that called anyone that does not agree with her opinion "Idiots". I would like to apologize to the organizers and participants of the "Forty Days For Life" demonstration if I didn't make this fact abundantly clear in my first letter. - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
Completeing an anti-abortion thought By Marie Zellmer - I have refrained from using names in my postings, to be sensitive to other people's lives, but I must say one last thing to Rob Holston. I believe that anyone who would post the insensitive and horrible things you have posted needs to see a councilor. I am speaking not about his cause, because everyone has the right to believe what they want, and if he wants to think abortion is murder, that is his right. What I have an issue with is how he is presenting his beliefs. I mean wanting to chop up living, breathing puppies is a bad sign. Calling me a murderer, who is duped by the medical profession and science means that something does need to be addressed, but not by me. - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
Proposed law to legalize Marijuana By Marvin Seibert - Once again another state, namely Alaska will vote on the opportunity to play Russian roulette with 2 bullets in the chamber instead of one. I have always heard the argument that Alcohol is more addictive than Marijuana, even if that was true do we really need another legal way to get stoned and check out of a useful life in society? - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
Ball fields By Susan Dornblaser - Mr. Lanham, I have walked at North Point Higgins and Weiss fields and the trail to Coast Guard beach for 7 years now every morning before or at daybreak. Ardie and I kept all the feces and ball players disgusting refuse picked up for a minimum of 5 years. You have noticed the excess feces but that is a very limited amount of refuse left out there. I clean up duck heads and duck bodies with duck tape on them out of the field also. No one will ever teach the geese to pick up after themselves. - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
Ketchikan's north end dogs By Paul Alberts - I was set aback by this letter as I read one complain about dog crap so much. Spend a little more time with your family and push spay and neutering (or pay to help someone's pet) instead of spending all of your time on some dumb hunting dog stuff. No mention of actually hunting with your dogs or family. what a waste of time and money for one's family. - More...
Tuesday AM - April 22, 2014
Minimum Wage: Let the People Have a Voice By Daniel Repasky - We, the Citizens of Alaska, by initiative have made the effort to see a modest minimum wage increase placed on the ballot for Voters to decide in election. We believe it that important. It’s not often that the people express their desire for a change in law by petition although this year seems to be a banner year, what with SB21, the Marijuana Initiative, and minimum wage all headed for a vote of the people. AO-37 was another such issue. Over 20,000 voters made the effort to change a bad law. The Assembly majority in Anchorage and Mayor Sullivan did everything it could to frustrate Anchorage’s votes (at taxpayer expense) and successfully delayed this vote until November. Our hope is that those 20,000 voters who signed the initiative/referendum will remember this and vote accordingly whenever Mayor Sullivan’s name appears on a ballot. - More...
Wednesday AM - April 16, 2014
Shopping dogs... By Dixie Rhodes - After reading the letter sent in by Laura Attwood, I decided to put in my own two cents. I've noticed a trend recently for people to bring their small dogs into grocery stores while they shop. I know that there are certified therapy dogs and service dogs in Ketchikan. I understand that there are people that need the help that therapy / service dogs provide. I have no problem with that. My problem is when I see people inside a grocery store with their puppy or small breed dog. Clearly, these are not service or therapy dogs. - More...
Wednesday AM - April 16, 2014
North End Dog Owners By Joseph Lanham - I love dogs by choice. I think you would be hard pressed to find more than a hand full of people that spend more time training and working with their dog than I do. I am commanded by God to love their owners ☺. This is more difficult. - More...
Wednesday AM - April 16, 2014
Alaska Fair Project By Michael Goodner - My name is Michael Goodner, and I am a third grader from Anselmo-Merna School in Merna, NE. I am nine years old. My class is having a States Fair and I have drawn your state to research. - More...
Wednesdsay AM - April 16, 2014
For the birds By Victoria McDonald - After years of picking up dead birds that have broken their necks after hitting my windows, I might have found something that will prevent their deaths. - More...
Wednesday AM - April 16, 2014
Prohibitions on same-sex marriage are inconsistent with freedom, justice, liberty and equality By Hollis French - Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These simple words, found in the Declaration of Independence, helped forge the ideals embedded in the United States Constitution -- a constitution that is the envy of the free world. Why? Because it stands as the finest example of humanity's commitment to freedom and equality. - More...
Wednesday AM - April 16, 2014
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